p10-11 Green Air may15 13/5/09 18:46 Page 10
in-depth
ttglive.com
Special Report: Air travel and the environment
The recession is doing more to reduce aviation’s carbon
footprint than any environmentalist, but when the economy
recovers, growth will take off again. Chris Gray looks at how
the industry is planning to reduce its long-term impact
CLIMATE CONFERENCE.
‘Technology will
drive cuts in CO
2
’
TECHNOLOGICAL advances will do said air travel was growing because
more to cut aviation’s carbon emis- it was meeting demand in the same
sions than efforts to get customers way as railways and roads had
to fly less, a top-level environment done in the past.
conference was told last week. “Air travel is the late-20th cen-
FUELS.
The Aviation and Climate Change tury and 21st century’s equivalent
conference in London was told cuts of rail in the 19th century and road
Biofuels ‘could
in capacity caused by the recession in the 20th. It is a vital and essen-
were forecast to cut emissions by 7.8% this year, tial part of our daily existence,” he said. replace kerosene’
but once demand returned, efforts to restrict “If we are to preserve this society, we must be
growth were unlikely to make much impact. committed to building aircraft that are as envi- BIOFUELS could be in regular use on commercial
Roger Gardner, chief executive of research ronmentally progressive as we can make them.” aircraft within three years and ultimately replace
body Omega, said best estimates were that Boeing spends 75% of its research and devel- kerosene, Boeing’s UK boss has claimed.
aviation had so far been responsible for a 0.028C opment budget on environmental performance. Sir Roger Bone said it was possible to make
rise in temperature, 4.7% of the total rise. Aviation accounted for 6% of the UK’s overall such predictions because progress over the past
The impact on climate change was set to grow, emissions but contributed £11.4 billion to the three years in researching alternatives to jet fuel
and improvements in technology and operational economy and supported 500,000 jobs, said Jill had surpassed expectations.
techniques were needed alongside attempts to Brady, chairman of the Sustainable Aviation Trials of biofuels on test flights with Air New
make air travel more expensive, or encourage group, which includes companies such as Tui, Zealand, Continental and Japan Airlines had
people to offset flights or fly less. Thomas Cook, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. shown they could potentially have a better
“The indications are there is limited accept- Brady said her group’s research suggested technical performance than kerosene, with 2%
ance of changing behaviour, and there are few that aviation’s carbon emissions would peak more energy and a lower freezing point, he said.
people willing to pay extra to mitigate the by 2020, and then decline to 2000 levels by the The plants and algae used to produce biofuel
impacts of their travel decisions,” said Gardner. year 2050 – against a background of passenger could be sustainably grown, and
Boeing UK president Sir Roger Bone (pictured) numbers trebling. the fuel had lower emissions of
sulphur and particulates.
In figures: Aviation and climate change
“Until only a handful of years
ago it was inconceivable to
3% – proportion of world’s greenhouse 7.8% – drop in emissions this year due think commercial aircraft
gas emissions from aviation in 2007 to downturn prompting flight cuts might one day be powered
6% – predicted proportion of 671 million – tons of carbon emissions by biofuels,” said Bone.
emissions from aviation in 2050 from aviation last year “Now the expectation
5% – the average annual passenger 35 billion – tons of man-made carbon is they will be in use, as an
growth in aviation emissions last year addition to kerosene, within
75% – share of Boeing’s research funds £11.4 billion – aviation’s three to five years.
spent on environmental performance contribution to UK economy “And the emerging consen-
70% – estimated cut in C0
2
emissions 500,000 – UK jobs dependent sus is there may be no reason
per passenger over last 50 years on aviation why such biofuels cannot
ultimately replace kerosene.”
10 15.05.2009
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68